Seymour Centre, Sydney
July 27
Variant is a humorous, quirky and sometimes puzzling combination of dance and physical theatre choreographed by Sue Healey in collaboration with the performers. Its underlying intent is to question the physical conformity taken for granted in the world of dance and by extension the general pressure to conform both physically and psychologically in society. The cast of six dancers reflect this theme in their own physical diversity, especially in the juxtaposition between James Berlyn and Kiruna Stamell. Height wise they are located at extreme ends of the bell curve, with Berlyn standing at six feet five inches and Stamell (who was born with dwarfism) at three feet six inches. As trained dancers however they share one unfortunate similarity: a difficulty in finding dancing roles because of their atypical stature. They are partnered frequently throughout the work, creating some of Variant’s most memorable images.
In one approximation of a more traditional duet, Stamell dances bravely on rather perilous wooden stilts which appear to become an extension of her own legs. This dance shifts stylistically from the sharp twists and turns of a tango to the elegant promenades en attitude of a classical pas de deux. Another duet shows them repeatedly charging at each other Spanish bullfighting style in an attempt to dominate but a winner is never established. Although Stamell could be seen as the more vulnerable or disadvantaged of the two, Variant avoids this stereoptype and emphasises her strong personality instead.
The four remaining dancers are Benjamin Hancock, whose joints, especially his spine, appear to be made of rubber, with Narelle Benjamin, Rachelle Hickson and Nalina Wait rounding out the cast without possessing any startlingly unusual physical traits of their own.
In the opening scenes the voice-over narrator (Brian Carbee) established each dancer with a character using brief but witty introductions that were made funnier by his deadpan delivery of them. All were cast as dropouts, rejected by society because they didn’t fit in either physically, psychologically or both. Brought together by their very strangeness, a camaraderie of sorts develops and is explored in a series of duets between different dancers. Narelle Benjamin moved with the grace and precision of a highly trained dancer and shone particularly in her duets with Benjamin Hancock, while Nalina Wait and Rachelle Hickson amused as identical twins who hate being identical, each trying to differentiate herself from the other in any way possible.
The accompanying piano music is composed and played onstage by Pat H. Wilson who also wrote the lyrics to several songs that feature throughout the work. Tobhiyah Feller’s set design evokes the ordinary interior of a rundown home and allows for quick changes with many items easily moved and interacted with by the cast. Overall the work feels a bit structurally disjointed, as if it has been split up into too many small contrasting sections for its relatively short, one hour duration, but there is still plenty to like about Variant.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON